The invention relates to a hammer for a material size reduction machine.
Typically, in conventional hammer mills, a large number of hammers are individually pivotally mounted on a rotating drum or disk rotating at high speed. The hammers are rotated at high speed and sweep adjacent the inner circumferential wall of a mill housing, whereupon particles to be size reduced are fed into the mill and collide with the front faces of the hammers.
To achieve a desired high output, and because of the wide variety of materials that must be processed by these material size reducing machines, the hammer mills or rotors must be very heavily constructed to provide the necessary strength for effective operation and durability. Additionally, a heavy hammer mill or rotor will also have a large amount of angular momentum and energy to effectively process tough, high strength materials and also maintain a relatively constant rotational speed, resulting in less wear on the drive train and engine.
Dimensional constraints and the severity of operating conditions must be considered with respect to the construction and configuration of a hammer. The hammers are typically pivotally mounted to the periphery of a rotating drum or disk. One problem associated with such machines is the regular need to replace damaged or worn hammers, this need being engendered by the high rates of rotation and the impact energies associated with the contact of the hammers with the particulate material to be size reduced.
Attempts have been made to improve the durability of such hammers by, for example, hardening of contact surfaces of the hammer. However, the need still exists for a hammer that offers a more favorable impact wear characteristic
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hammer that addresses the concerns set forth above.